Allen West's words inspire friends, enrage foes

Congressman known for red-hot rhetoric

With Congress on its August vacation, West's trademark brand of heated rhetoric is providing plenty of material for cable TV and the conservative and liberal blogospheres.

In the last 10 days, the freshman Republican:

Described himself as "the modern day Harriet Tubman" who can help rescue blacks from the Democratic Party by leading them "on the underground railroad away from that plantation." West told FOX News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" that some black leaders "are nothing more than the overseers of that plantation."

Told a tea party group that the words he used to convince a supporter of U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, to become a Republican were, "Debbie is not smart." West later said the comment, widely reported on conservative websites, was a joke. "We just had a little fun," he said.

Explained in an interview with Sun Sentinel reporters and editors that gay people can change their behavior, but they shouldn't have to. "No. I like chocolate chip ice cream and I will continue to like chocolate chip ice cream. So there's no worry about me changing to vanilla. I like to, you know, ride my motorcycle. What do you want me to do? You want me to change my behavior and ride a scooter? I'm not into that."

"He's crazy like a fox," said Sean Foreman, a political scientist at Barry University. "In some ways it's like Sarah Palin and George W. Bush where they say outlandish things, but I have a feeling West is a very intelligent man."

West's latest comments, on "Harriet Tubman" and "Debbie is not smart," infuriated foes and left fans cheering. "If West was smart he would learn to shut his mouth or at the very least think before he speaks," one person wrote Thursday on SunSentinel.com. Another said, "These loons who criticize Rep. West with their knee-jerk responses every time he says something show their lack of common sense."

His sometimes tangled and often tempestuous speech has been a trademark for West since the campaign trail, especially when he's talking about Wasserman Schultz.

Last month, West made national news by calling her "the most vile, unprofessional and despicable" member of the House, labeled her a "coward," told her to "shut the heck up," and said she had "proven repeatedly that you are not a Lady."

"If you say controversial things, they'll talk about you in the news, and it seems to be good for his political career — so far," Foreman said.

But that might not continue, said Charles Zelden, a professor of history and legal studies who specializes in politics and voting at Nova Southeastern University. Zelden said West could turn off centrist voters who will decide next year's election — in a district evenly divided among Democrats, Republicans and independents.

"The danger," he said, "is people will be shaking their heads about this guy: that he's crazy, a loose cannon, that he doesn't really speak for me."

Still, voters in his Broward-Palm Beach County district knew what they were getting when they elected West last year.

During a campaign filled with red-hot rhetoric, West called on supporters to "grab their muskets" and "fix your bayonets." And he called his opponent, then-U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, a "cretin," a "pathetic liberal" and said he wanted to make Klein "scared to come out of his house."

West said in a 2010 interview that his rhetorical style was simply part of his personality. "I grew up in the inner city of Atlanta, Georgia. Every once in a while you get to do some trash-talking the way we do in college football games," he said. "That is what we do in America. I don't take it that serious."

Extended comments from Allen West, and reactions from friends and critics, on the Broward Politics blog at SunSentinel.com/BrowardPolitics.